Pastor Jeff Williams: December 6, 2009 Meet the Ephesians, Part XV: Climbing the Walls.

Good morning. How many hardcore shoppers do we have out here today? Anybody participate in Black Friday as far as getting up early in the morning? Wow, there are some hardcores-wow. That's just something. Ive never done that before, but I hear stories that that can get a little brutal, get a little competitive. There are parents trying to get that toy before it runs out, that popular toy. Definitely, this time of year brings out the consumer in us, right? Were looking for the best deals. Were looking for that bargain. Were searching for coupons. Were out and about. But its not just Christmastime. We are a consumer-oriented society all the time because we tend to be by our very nature self-centered, so Madison Avenue fits right well with that. Because that is our nature, its very easy for us to put ourselves first and to push and to shove to get and acquire. Sadly, many times we take that mentality, that consumer mentality-and not that theres anything wrong with shopping for deals on Black Friday-dont get me wrong. Im not saying that, but the consumer mentality-we sometimes take that to church. We start approaching church. Were looking around for a church. Were at a church, and we say, What can this church do for me? How can this ministry serve me? How is this going to help me and my family? So the words me, my, mine are spoken a lot. What do you think if you were to go back to the first century church? What if you could participate in their worship or see what worship was like in the first century church? What do you think that would have been like? I mean before denominations, before man-made hierarchies and structures, when it was just new and pure and fresh: what would the worship be like? Would it be a consumer mindset? What do you think? We have some glimpses. We have some windows, some snapshots, into what worship was to be in the New Testament Church. Were going to take a look at a few of them this morning. I want you to turn first to the Book of Colossians 3. What I want to do is really not dwell on these passages very much, but just read through them; and I want you to look for the common theme in the passages were going to read. That's going to be your goal. Verse 15 of Colossians 3 (page 1167 of pew Bibles), Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. Remember those phrases. Remember those words. Remember the Spirit of that passage. Turn then also to the Book of Hebrews 10:23 (page 1191 of pew Bibles). Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Consider one another-how to stimulate one another to good deeds; good deeds encourage one another. Then turn to Ephesians 5:19 (page 1159), Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Did you see the common theme there? Did you see the theme? You saw words repeated like one another. You saw things plural, we, our. What Paul is saying is the Christian life is to be lived in the context of community, of oneness, of unity. It is not meant to be something that is lived out in isolation, but it is meant to be lived together-a journey that we take together. I want you to particularly note Verse 21 of this passage. It says, Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. That could be a misunderstood verse. That could even be a malign verse because that does not sound like fun. That's probably not a verse thats on your refrigerator or hanging from the dashboard of your car. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. You say, I dont want to submit to you. Ill say, I dont want to submit to you, right? I want to be the boss! You want to be the boss. You want to be in charge. It says submit-not to a pastor, not to elders; it says submit to what? One another. Its mutual; its reciprocal-a voluntary submission. Its not a matter of saying one is inferior to another, one is superior to another. It is saying, Listen, for our common interest, for our common goal, we submit to one another to accomplish what God has called us to do and be. I shared with you a few weeks ago about my dark side on the basketball court. I shared with you about a game I was in, and you know Ive been playing basketball for 87 years. I have never done this before, but I did it a few weeks ago. I got so frustrated and angry with a teammate, who was also a friend, that I shoved him with everything I had. I felt really bad later, but what was happening around it was the guy I was guarding-they were setting picks for him because hes a pretty good shot; so they werent calling out the picks. My guy scored and one of my teammates got mad at me. Id say, Well, how about you call out the picks? Say pick right or pick left so I know whats coming. Because if youre really playing defense, your peripheral sometimes is not what it needs to be. I was told by a coach, Watch their belly button when you play defense. If you watch the ball, you can be faked. If you watch the eyes, you can be faked. If you watch the feet, you can be faked, but they dont go anywhere without that belly button. So Im watching the belly button, and Im getting blindsided by picks. Then he scored another shot, made another basket. My teammate yelled at me again. Frustration is building. I said, Well, how about we switch? When I get picked off my guy, help out! Call the picks. You know its your fault too. One of my teammates said, Let me guard this guy. Lets switch. Lets switch, and I took that personally. I thought he was saying to me, I think Im a better defender than you. You cant guard that guy. I can, so you guard my guy, and then Ill guard the good guy. Then Ill guard the good guy. I said, I can guard him! Ive guarded him many times. Really, if youd just help me out on the picks, wed be fine. Now theyre setting picks right and left. I get another pick. He scores again. Im frustrated. My teammate, thats when he said the word that really tripped my trigger, and I pushed him. We go on, and my guy doesnt score anymore. I didnt switch. We lose the game. Everybody is frustrated. I call out to my friend afterwards. This is the guy who said, Lets switch. Lets switch, and I said, No, we dont need to switch. He said, I thought we would switch. I said, But I didnt think it was a good idea because my guy is so much taller and stronger than you. I didnt think that was a good idea. I thought he would overpower you under the hoop. He goes, Yes, but Im faster than you. And I couldnt argue with him there. Pretty much everybody within the sound of my voice is faster than me right now. I cannot argue with that. What he was saying is, Listen, you might be bigger than me and stronger than me, but I can get around that pick quicker than you; and I can get around that pick and maybe get a hand in his face and maybe stop some of those shots. So one of us was thinking for the common good of the tea, and winning and succeeding, and the other one was thinking about their ego and their pride. Which one do you think that was? Who was the self-centered one there? No, it was me. You were wrong. It was me. That was a joke. I know I was self-centered. He said, Lets work to the common interest, and I was thinking about my own interest. Thats what Paul is talking about here, this mutual submission. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ because we are working together for a common goal. There are times when I need to submit to you and take the backseat, and there are times when you submit to me. There are times when this person takes the lead, times when that person takes the lead. You take this role. I take that, and we switch, because we are working together to say, Who can get the job done? How are we going to get this done? Lets get it together. Lets put the goal of oneness first, not individual agendas-not pride. Thats what hes talking about here, and that, I think, we can salute. That I think we can embrace. The world looks within first right. The consumer mentality says, Im going to look for me-my needs, my desires, what I can have for me. Thats not the way it works in the spiritual life. The Bible says to be filled with the Spirit. How does that happen? How are you filled with the Spirit? Is it you just need to sit down with your Bible for three hours a day and pray for three hours a day? No, those are wonderful things, but you know when it talks about being filled in the Spirit-as it does here-its in the context of community, isnt it? So what I do is I look up first. Thats the first place I look. Yes, I have needs. Yes, I want to grow, but I look up first. I look to God first. When I look to God first, God changes my heart. God takes the cold parts and makes them warm. He takes the rough parts and makes them smooth. When He changes my heart, He changes my focus from inside to outside, and I begin to reach out. I begin to look at the needs around me and try to respond to the people that are around me. Then when I respond to that and I learn to love and to give and to serve, I am filled with the Spirit so that I can further serve, love greater, and give more. You see, its, I look up, look out, and then in. The consumer looks first in and only in, and it turns a deaf ear to the cries for help and a blind eye to the needs that are around. Paul said, Thats not what the church is to be about. This is about us. This is about climbing together on this journey. I want to share a story with you of something that happened to me about 13 years ago. I know it was over 13 years ago because my wife was expecting our youngest child. We said, You know, were going to have another baby. Its probably going to be awhile before we can get away by ourselves like this again, so lets go someplace fun and warm. Lets go someplace by ourselves, and we chose to go to Jamaica. So we would spend a week in Jamaica, and we were trying to figure out what was fun to do in Jamaica. Everybody kept saying, You have to go to Dunns River Falls. Anybody here ever been to Dunns River Falls in Jamaica? Anybody climb the Falls before? Okay, so I have some alumni here. Ive had alumni in every service. Its in Ocho Rios, Eight Rivers. In the city of Ocho Rios, these rivers come together, and they form this beautiful cascading waterfall that flows into the Caribbean Sea. Were going to see some pictures right now. Lets go ahead and show those pictures, and youll see some of the grandeur of this; but really it doesnt entirely do it justice-you know, the sound of the waters; the mist; the rocks; the vegetation on either side of this area; the beautiful turquoise water as it flows into the Sea. Its beautiful, and youll notice that there are people climbing this. Youll notice as you see them that theyre climbing together, so when you meet for your instruction… Brenda couldnt climb because she was pregnant; so I went by myself, and she was going to take photographs. He said, Listen, two rules. Number one, you listen to me. You follow me. I know my way to the top of this waterfall. I climb this every day, many times a day. I know the rocks we need to step on. I know the pitfalls. If you leave this group, thats dangerous. Stay with the group and listen to me. I know these falls like the back of my hand, and if you follow me, Ill get you there safely. Listen to my voice. Number two, stay together. We are going to form a line, and we are going to hold one anothers hands. We are going to help one another up this waterfall. Talk to each other. If something is dangerous, let somebody else know. When somebody is stuck or they slip, help them. The whole line will stop as we wait for you to help them, but stay together. Dont think you can do it faster or better and leave the line. Hold hands and together we will safely navigate the Falls. I soon realized as I was climbing that this was not Great America. This was not a controlled environment. There was a real current here. These were not Styrofoam boulders; these are real boulders. Most of it was moderate, but there was one area in particular-I dont know if you guys remember this, but there was one area in particular that was a little bit hairy, that you had to really step up; and it got just a little bit steeper than other areas. In fact, thats one area where an elderly man that was with our group slipped and fell and slid down the rocks for about 30 feet. He just tore up his back. The paramedics had to come in and help him. This was a dangerous situation. This was not by any means something to be taken lightly. So we started our climb. Really, to me its a microcosm of what Paul is talking about. Number one, were looking up. Were looking to our goal; were looking to our leader; and were listening to his voice just like we listen to Jesus and we look to Jesus; and He is our leader. He calls the shots. Number two, we were climbing in community. We were hand in hand. In the Passage we read in the Bible, it says, Instruct one another. Teach one another with all wisdom. Admonish one another. What do those words mean? In Colossians, admonish means to warn. So youd be coming, and youd say, Look, be careful. This rock is really slippery. So the person in front of you would say, Be careful. This rock is really slippery. Then Id turn to the person behind me and say, Be careful. This rock is really slippery. Theyd say to the others, Be careful. This rock is really slippery. Avoid this rock. If somebody would get stuck, we would wait and help pull them out. Or wed say, This area is muddy, so we were continually experiencing things and passing what we learned from that experience on to the next climber. Thats what the church does. You go through things I havent gone through. I go through things you havent gone through. Together, we help each other out. Someone may have gone through a divorce, and others who have gone through a divorce can come alongside and help. Or maybe youve struggled with alcohol abuse. We have a divorce recovery group. We have an alcohol abuse recovery group in our church. Maybe youve gone through a death of a loved one. We have a bereavement group in our church that meets throughout the year. Maybe you have a parent with Alzheimers or some sort of disease. You come together in community. Number one, you get in the line-you get in the line. I cant help but to use Judy as an example, Dennis, if its okay with you? Judy is in the line. Judy Babish is struggling with some health concerns right now. When she came forward to pray after a service, it was like a group of people because she was so plugged into community. It wasnt just her and Dennis going through this battle. It is the church thats fighting this battle and praying with her and supporting her. You have to get in line. It was interesting to me that so many people disregarded the command of the leader and thought they knew better and left the line. They just totally ignored his instructions and went off by themselves to climb because they were being slowed down because they had a better way. They had a more efficient way, so theyd leave the group. Id want to tattle, Hey, leaving the group… But you know what, you have a free will. If you want to break your neck, thats your choice. The leader would just let them go, and it wasnt long before theyd eat some humble pie. Theyd be doing fine for a while. Theyd climb ahead of the group, but soon theyd reach an area of impasse, and theyd humbly come back to the line, join hands and continue the climb. Some of you have left the group. In the Book of Hebrews, it says, Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together. Some have done that. Some have said, I dont need anybody to hold my hand. Theyve gone off to forge their own way, their own climb; and its hard. Its hard to do it by yourself. When youre by yourself, theres nobody to help you up in those steep climbs. Theres nobody to say, You know what? You need to be careful here. You need to watch out for that. This is dangerous. Ive tripped on this rock, and so can you. When youre by yourself, you learn things the hard way. Its my prayer that some of you who are in isolation tonight will come back, come back and listen to the voice of the Master, come back and put your hands in the hands of your brothers and sisters in Christ as we climb-because I tell you what, the current in that river was relentless. It never let up. If you were stuck, it was still coming down. If you slipped, it would still come down. There were some times over the boulders that that current was really pushing against you. Im telling you, friends, the current of this world is relentless. It does not let up, not even for a second. It is pushing you away from the Will of God. It is pushing away from the person of Christ. It is pushing you toward self-centeredness. It is pushing you toward this consumer mentality. It is pushing you away from a life of love and service and giving. It is pushing you away from those things. It is tempting you, and the current is relentless. Thats why its so important that we have community because when we are locked together by a common goal and a common faith, we help one another to make it against the current. We fight together against the current, and we are triumphant because we are together. As I hold on to that hand, Im not just holding on to the hand of the person in front of me, but theyre holding on to the next; and that person is holding on to the next; and that person is holding on to the next; and we are one. Thats the vision that Paul has for the church. So where are you in this picture? If we were to show you there, are you in the line? Are you saying, Listen, I need to be a part of community? or are you a lone ranger out here trying to forge your own way? Friends, the current is swift. There was a family sadly, and I havent heard any more news, but in Oregon, they got lost. They were parents of four children. They went off to the top of a mountain to find a rare Christmas tree and never came home. I hadnt heard any news that they were found. They were found? Pretty cold, I bet though, ha? Yeah. When you isolate yourself, you take a risk. When youre lost, who is going to bring you back to the path? When you fall, who is going to be there to pick you up? Its a dangerous thing. She made it back. Thats good news. Some people arent so fortunate. So Paul encourages the church, Dont have blinders on. Take off the blinders to see not only your own needs, but to see the needs that are around you, to hear the cries that are around you. As Im climbing those Falls, Im following this principal. Im looking up. Im looking to the finish line. Im looking to my leader. Then I am reaching out, and I am holding on to the hand in front of me and the hand behind me. As I do that, as I keep my eyes on the goal and as I stay in community, I find I am climbing. I am going closer to my goal-upwards, outwards, then inwards, and then progress. Thats how it takes place. Now you and I take communion. In this church we do it every month. In some churches we do it every week, but theres a familiar passage that we read in 1 Corinthians 11. You know the passage Im talking about? For I have received from the Lord what Ive also passed on to you, Paul writes? Lets take a look at that chapter, and lets find out why that passage is there. Would you do that with me please? Turn your Bible to 1 Corinthians 11. Because sometimes we ignore the context of passages and verses. We dont grasp the full meaning of what they are trying to communicate or why they are there. Let me give you a little bit of historical background before we delve into this text. The first century Christians were ostracized by culture. In fact, not only were they ostracized, but they were seen as social outcasts; and you know from history, they were emperors such as Trajan and Domitian and Diocletian and other emperors who would actually torture and kill the Christians in those first and second centuries. Why? Christians love people. They want to serve people. They love God. Why were they held with such disdain? Christians were viewed by the pop culture-the popular point of view-as atheists, immoral atheists, who were against the government. You say, How in the world? What? Well, number one, they dont worship the Greek and Roman gods. If youre not going to worship the pantheon of Greek and Roman gods, you must be an atheist. Youre not going to come and burn incense to Zeus? You have a problem. Youre an atheist. You say, Well, I believe in the God of Heaven, the Son Jesus Christ. You dont believe in our gods. You dont come and celebrate our national holidays. You dont come and burn incense and pray. You dont acknowledge that Caesar is god. Youre anti-government and you are an atheist. Whats more, youre immoral. Where did that come from? When the church had the Lords Supper, it was not just what we have. You know, we come together and we have the cup and the bread, but the Lords Supper in the New Testament Church was a meal. It wasnt just a ritual or ceremony. The service was actually part of a broader meal. It was called the agape feast. Agape means love. It was the love feast. Those who were outside the church heard that. They didnt understand what was going on with this new sect, this new group, so when they heard they were going to the love feast, they thought it was the love feast. Going down to the Love Shack kind of thing. This is the love feast, and boy I tell you what, these Christians, these immoral atheistic Christians, man, you know what theyre doing? Theyre perverts. Thats what they are. Theyre immoral people. So they thought all kinds of immoral activities were happening at these love feasts. Isnt it something how Satan takes the truth and he just twists it, distorts it and people believe it? He doesnt do that anymore, but Im saying back in the day, that's what he did (sarcasm). He doesnt take any good words and twist them and change their meaning now, no. Evangelical means you believe the Bible is the Word of God. Plain and simple-that's what it means. What do you think the average person things evangelical means? Yeah. You know what I mean, right? Born again-back in the 70s, born again was simply a term that Jesus used to describe this new spiritual birth. Youre reborn of the Spirit. What did the media and Hollywood do with the phrase born again? If you were born again, you were some sort of crazy religious wacko! But its a word right out of the mouth of Jesus. Thats what Satan does. So they turned against the church. Now at the church in Corinth, as in any city, there were the haves and the have nots. So when you come to this meal, you were to eat a meal, and then youd receive together of the Lords Supper. There were those in the church who had plenty. There were those in the church who had just enough, and there were those in the church who didnt have enough-those in the church who really werent getting by. Maybe it was a widow whod lost her husband, and she was struggling to make ends meet, or maybe it was somebody who had lost a job and lost their income. They didnt have enough to support their family. That time, that love feast, might have been the only good meal they were going to get all week long. What was starting to happen here was they were using that as a very cliquish place for those who had to flaunt what they had. This person comes in, and she barely puts together a sandwich from what shes going to feed her children. This person comes in, and he has nothing. He was hoping for some crumbs. He was hoping for some scraps because hes hungry. This person comes in, and she has a roast. She has wine. She has cheeses and spices, and theyre living large. Man, theyre eating and laughing, toasting and drinking. Everything is wonderful, and these poor Christians were looking at those people; and they wouldnt share. They were gorging themselves. They wouldnt look around and say, Well, do you need something too? Can I help you? They would just eat this meal and care only about themselves. Some would come to the love feast hungry and leave hungry. Some would come to the love feast full and leave even fuller. This was not what the church was to be about. This is something that made the Apostle Paul very angry. Hes going to write them and give them a piece of his mind here in Verse 17 (page 1136). He says, In the following directives, I have no praise for you. For your meetings do more harm than good. How about that? Youre better off not having church. You do more harm than good. In the first place… If you say in the first place, that means theres probably going to be a second and a third place. He has some points to make. In the first place, I hear that when you come to church, there are divisions among you. Youre not just the Body of Christ. Youre all these little segments and sects. To some extent, I believe it. No doubt there has to be differences among you to show which of you have Gods approval. Now understand, friends, thats sarcasm. Paul is saying, Well, of course, we have to have the visions. Of course, we have to have the haves or the have nots because we have to know who Gods favorites are. Of course! We know that the rich God loves more. The people who have an abundance-God must love them more. Thats why hes blessed them more. Of course we have to have the visions because after all, thats how we tell who God really likes. So theres sarcasm in that statement. He says in the next verse, When you come together, it is not the Lords Supper you eat… Oh, yeah, yeah it is. Yeah, its the Lords Supper. No it isnt. It might be your supper, but its not the Lords Supper. Im going to tell you in a little bit what the Lords Supper looks like, but what youre doing isnt the Lords Supper. …for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anyone else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Excess. While some dont have any, one is eating and drinking to the point of excess. Dont you have homes to eat and drink in? Of do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? When youre home, its all about you; but when you are at the church, its about us. What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not! Pauls ashamed of their behavior. Then he goes on and talks of the text well read in a little while, For I have received to you… Let me tell you what the Supper really is supposed to be about and look like. Verse 27, Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. You come to this communion, and you totally neglect the church. You neglect your brothers and sisters. You have sinned against Christ. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. What is he speaking of here? Who is the body? The body was the church. When you ignore the needs that are around you, you turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the needs of the hurting, to the needs of the helpless, to the needs of the vulnerable, guess what? You are bringing judgment upon yourself. Verse 30, That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep, or died. Some people have read that passage and said, Oh, well we have to be careful. If we dont take communion the right way, God might strike you dead or God might make you sick. Friends, this is not a passage about God being a child abuser. This is not a passage about God abusing His children. This is a very practical teaching. Paul is saying, Look, there are people around you that are sick because theyre not eating. In fact, there are people around you not getting the basics of life, and its causing them to die. Isnt it sad that people become so hungry that they have to die; but isnt it even more tragic that its happening right under your noses, and youre not doing anything about it. Youre letting it happen. Maybe the New Testament Church is not as perfect as we thought it was. Maybe they had some blemishes too. Maybe they were made up of self-centered people just like you and me. That is why many sleep. For if we were to judge ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. Dont put yourself first. Its not every man for himself. We are doing this in community. I have to tell you something-some of us are really getting that message. I dont think theres ever been a time in our church where there have been more individuals loving, serving and giving. Im seeing it across the board. Guess whats happening? Youre growing. Youre growing because you first reached up. God changed your heart, so you reached out; and when you reached out, you were filled with the Spirit and changed from within. If you start with the within; all youre doing is robbing yourself, robbing others and robbing God. Thats not the way God designed it to work. Up, out, in. We climb it together. We climb it in community. The first century church struggled with the same problems, and Paul says, Open your eyes to the needs that are around you. We dont have a love feast. We dont have a big meal every time we have communion. You know what? We can do the same thing in our lifestyle. We can leave this place and live self-centered lives, putting ourselves first and doing the same thing the church in Corinth did. So where are you? Where is your focus? Is it up first or in first? Is it out? Talking about my need for help and helping those behind me-thats your decision to make. Would you join me in prayer? Father, we thank You for the teaching of Your Word. We see that its one another. Were called to teach one another, to admonish one another, to sing, to pray, to give, to help, to encourage one another, Lord, so I want to pray for those in isolation, for those whove left the community, that theyd come back. I pray that theyd not have that same consumer mindset when it comes to the church. When a consumer doesnt like something, they move on. They try another product. They go another place. Thats not what the church is to be. Its a place where we work through our problems. Its a place where we serve together. We help one another through obstacles. We help one another through the strong current. Together we climb towards the upward goal of Heaven. We follow the voice of our Savior, our Lord, as He leads and as He instructs. As we do that, we grow; we progress. Lord, as we come to this communion time, we remember the One who said that the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, to give His life as ransom for many. We recognize this communion commemorates the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate in loving, serving and giving. Prepare our hearts now to receive of Your body. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.